Port Essington Triumph

Introduction to Journal of an overland expedition in Australia from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, a distance of upwards of 3000 miles, during the years 1844-1845

When Ludwig Leichhardt heard of a planned New South Wales government-sponsored expedition to find an overland route to the remote outpost of Port Essington on the Coburg Peninsula (near modern day Darwin), he decided that he too would mount an expedition to Port Essington. Port Essington had caught the imagination of many of the colony’s entrepreneurs who believed an overland link with the Port Essington settlement would allow trade to open between Asia and the colony. It has also been suggested that the settlement was established as a strategy to maintain British control of Australia. Leichhardt, on the other hand, was motivated not by commerce, but by his quest for knowledge.

Leichhardt had limited success in convincing the upper echelons of colonial society to support his proposed expedition. However, he did manage to capture the imagination and support of the merchants and press of Sydney and Brisbane, which resulted in the supply of much of his equipment and stock. This 1844-1845 expedition was to be the most significant scientific investigation of the continent since the initial explorations of Sir Joseph Banks. It was unlike any that had preceded it that century, or indeed any that followed it for many decades to come. While beset with difficulties and conflict, the journey allowed Leichhardt to record the wildlife and landscape and ultimately proved to colonial society that he was indeed an “explorer”.